This invention is generally related to fences and wall barriers, and more particularly to a retractable perimeter barrier for a swimming pool.
Safety from inadvertently falling or stumbling into a swimming pool, particularly at night, is of great concern to any swimming pool owner or operator. Although not required by law in all locations, some communities require that, in prescribed circumstances, a fence be constructed around the entire swimming pool so as to prevent children or adults from inadvertently falling into the pool. Lighting at night helps to illuminate the pool so that a passerby will become aware of its presence to help avoid such an occurrence.
A number of devices are known to applicant which are intended to prevent inadvertent access to a swimming pool. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,479 to Johannesson which is directed to a removable fence for an above ground swimming pool.
Another device known to applicant is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,796 to Schiron which teaches a rigid protective wall extending along and adjacent to the longitudinal walls of a wave bath-type swimming pool.
Fish, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,380,327, teaches a collapsible safety perimeter barrier for swimming pools. This invention includes a plurality of vertical support members which are easily removed by lifting them from the sleeves located in the pool deck and folding the fence into a storable position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,126 also teaches a universal perimeter fence for an above ground swimming pool.
All of the above devices require their physical removal thereof in order to eliminate the presence of these barriers from around the pool while the pool is in use.
The present invention provides a retractable perimeter swimming pool barrier which is vertically actuated by the presence or absence of water within a support trough buried within the ground. When the trough is filled with water, the barrier upwardly extends into its normal inuse position. By draining or pumping the water from the trough, the barrier retracts into the trough into an unobtrusive, stored position, generally flush with the deck or ground surrounding the swimming pool.